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Abstract:

A touch apparatus includes a touch panel and a control unit. The touch
panel has an input interface, which has a plurality of buttons and a
zooming zone. The control unit is electrically connected with the touch
panel. When a user touches one of the buttons, the control unit generates
a prompt signal corresponding to the button, and a symbol corresponding
to the button is magnified and displayed in the zooming zone. When the
user then releases the button and doesn't touch the input interface, the
symbol or a function corresponding to the button is inputted to the
control unit. The touch apparatus has the advantages of assisting
visually impaired people to use and simplifying information input.

Claims:

1. A touch apparatus, comprising: a touch panel having an input
interface, wherein the input interface has a plurality of buttons and a
zooming zone; and a control unit electrically connected with the touch
panel, wherein when a user touches one of the buttons, the control unit
generates a prompt signal corresponding to the button, and a symbol
corresponding to the button is magnified and displayed in the zooming
zone, and then when the user releases the button and doesn't touch the
input interface, the symbol or a function corresponding to the button is
inputted to the control unit.

2. The touch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the prompt signal is a sound
signal.

3. The touch apparatus of claim 1, wherein after the symbol corresponding
to the button is inputted to the control unit, the control unit controls
the input interface to display only buttons and their corresponding
symbols relating to the button.

4. The touch apparatus of claim 3, wherein when the left side of another
button relating to the button displayed on the input interface has a
blank area, and the user touches the another button or the blank area,
the control unit generates another prompt signal corresponding to the
another button, and a symbol corresponding to the another button is
magnified and displayed in the zooming zone.

5. The touch apparatus of claim 3, wherein when the left side of another
button relating to the button displayed on the input interface has a
displayed button and a corresponding symbol while the right side of the
another button has a blank area, and the user touches the another button
or the blank area, the control unit generates another prompt signal
corresponding to the another button, and a symbol corresponding to the
another button is magnified and displayed in the zooming zone.

6. The touch apparatus of claim 4, wherein when the user releases the
another button or the blank area and doesn't touch the input interface,
the symbol corresponding to the another button is inputted to the control
unit.

7. The touch apparatus of claim 5, wherein when the user releases the
another button or the blank area and doesn't touch the input interface,
the symbol corresponding to the another button is inputted to the control
unit.

8. The touch apparatus of claim 1, wherein after the symbol corresponding
to the button is inputted to the control unit, the control unit controls
the input interface to normally display the buttons and the corresponding
symbols relating to the button, and fades away symbols corresponding to
buttons that are not relating to the button.

9. The touch apparatus of claim 8, wherein when the user touches a symbol
corresponding to another button that is normally displayed or faded away,
the control unit generates another prompt signal corresponding to the
another button, and a symbol corresponding to the another button is
magnified and displayed in the zooming zone.

10. The touch apparatus of claim 9, wherein when the user release the
another button and doesn't touch the input interface, the symbol
corresponding to the another button is inputted to the control unit.

11. The touch apparatus of claim 8, wherein when the user touches the
symbol corresponding to the another button that is normally displayed or
faded away, the control unit generates different prompt signal.

12. The touch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the input interface further
has a text zone, and when the user touches the text zone, the control
unit generates another prompt signal corresponding to the text zone.

Description:

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This Non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
§119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 100102380 filed in Taiwan,
Republic of China on Jan. 21, 2011, the entire contents of which are
hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus and, in
particular, to a touch-control electronic apparatus.

[0004] 2. Related Art

[0005] In the recent years, many touch-control electronic products, such
as tablet computers, cell phones, or GPS, have been manufactured and
sold. These products have the touch control function, so that the user
can directly touch or press the text, function or picture on the touch
panel so as to operate the touch apparatus.

[0006] For a conventional touch apparatus, the user usually clicks or
double-clicks the virtual button on the touch panel so as to select the
corresponding symbol, text, function or picture. In this input operation,
it is usually to see the displayed symbols, texts, functions or pictures,
and then to click the desired one by finger or stylus. When the finger or
stylus touch the button on the touch panel displayed with the desired
symbol, text, function or picture, the select and input operations are
finished.

[0007] However, the click input operation for the conventional touch
apparatus must catch the displayed virtual buttons and search the desired
ones. Although this operation is familiar to the normal users, it may
cause the operation problem to the visually impaired people. In other
words, regarding to the visually impaired people, it is difficult or
impossible to operate the conventional touch apparatus.

[0008] Therefore, it is an important subject of the present invention to
provide a touch apparatus that can assist visually impaired people to use
and simplify information input.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In view of the foregoing subject, an objective of the present
invention is to provide a touch apparatus that can assist visually
impaired people to use and simplify information input.

[0010] To achieve the above, the present invention discloses a touch
apparatus including a touch panel and a control unit. The touch panel has
an input interface, which has a plurality of buttons and a zooming zone.
The control unit is electrically connected with the touch panel. When a
user touches one of the buttons, the control unit generates a prompt
signal corresponding to the button, and a symbol corresponding to the
button is magnified and displayed in the zooming zone. When the user then
releases the button and doesn't touch the input interface, the symbol or
a function corresponding to the button is inputted to the control unit.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the prompt signal is a
sound signal.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, after the symbol
corresponding to the button is inputted to the control unit, the control
unit controls the input interface to display only buttons and their
corresponding symbols relating to the button.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the left side of
another button relating to the button displayed on the input interface
has a blank area, and the user touches the another button or the blank
area, the control unit generates another prompt signal corresponding to
the another button, and a symbol corresponding to the another button is
magnified and displayed in the zooming zone.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the left side of
another button relating to the button displayed on the input interface
has a displayed button and a corresponding symbol while the right side of
the another button has a blank area, and the user touches the another
button or the blank area, the control unit generates another prompt
signal corresponding to the another button, and a symbol corresponding to
the another button is magnified and displayed in the zooming zone.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the user releases
the another button or the blank area and doesn't touch the input
interface, the symbol corresponding to the another button is inputted to
the control unit.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, after the symbol
corresponding to the button is inputted to the control unit, the control
unit controls the input interface to normally display the buttons and the
corresponding symbols relating to the button, and fades away symbols
corresponding to buttons that are not relating to the button.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the user touches a
symbol corresponding to another button that is normally displayed or
faded away, the control unit generates another prompt signal
corresponding to the another button, and a symbol corresponding to the
another button is magnified and displayed in the zooming zone.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the user release
the another button and doesn't touch the input interface, the symbol
corresponding to the another button is inputted to the control unit.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the user touches
the symbol corresponding to the another button that is normally displayed
or faded away, the control unit generates different prompt signal.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, the input interface
further has a text zone, and when the user touches the text zone, the
control unit generates another prompt signal corresponding to the text
zone.

[0021] As mentioned above, in the touch apparatus of the present
invention, when a user touches one of the buttons, the control unit
generates a prompt signal corresponding to the button, and a symbol
corresponding to the button is magnified and displayed in the zooming
zone. According to this feature, the touch apparatus of the present
invention can help visually impaired people to realize the symbol or
function corresponding to the selected button by the prompt signal and
the magnifying display function. Then, when the user releases the button
and doesn't touch the input interface, the symbol or function
corresponding to the button is inputted to the control unit. Accordingly,
after the button of the touch apparatus is touched and released, the
selected symbol can be successfully inputted. The touch apparatus of the
present invention has the advantage of simplifying the text input.
Besides, due to the assistance of the present invention, the visually
impaired people can easily learn how to use the touch apparatus and to
input texts, so that the touch apparatus of the present invention can
also assist visually impaired people to use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed
description and accompanying drawings, which are given for illustration
only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

[0023] FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a touch apparatus according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing the touch apparatus;

[0025] FIGS. 2A to 2E are schematic diagrams showing the procedure for
using the touch apparatus to input Chinese words;

[0026] FIGS. 3A to 4C are schematic diagrams showing the procedure for
using the touch apparatus to revise an article;

[0027] FIGS. 5A to 5C are schematic diagrams showing the procedure for
using the touch apparatus to input English words; and

[0028] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an information input method according to
the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] The present invention will be apparent from the following detailed
description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings,
wherein the same references relate to the same elements.

[0030] FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a touch apparatus 1 according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic
diagram showing the touch apparatus 1.

[0031] Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the touch apparatus 1 includes a
touch panel 11 and a control unit 12. The touch apparatus 1 can be a
computer, a cell phone, a stereo set, an electronic machine, an ATM, or a
GPS. The computer can be a tablet computer, a desktop computer, or a
laptop computer. To be noted, the touch apparatus 1 is not limited to be
offered for visually impaired people to use, and of course, it can be
offered for normal people to use. In this embodiment, the touch apparatus
1 is a cell phone for example.

[0032] The touch panel 11 has an input interface I, which has a plurality
of buttons B and a zooming zone. In this case, the buttons B are virtual
buttons, and the buttons B may include symbol buttons and functional
buttons. In this embodiment, the input interface I is a text input
interface such as a phonetic (Zhuyin) input interface (using phonetic
(Zhuyin) input method). Of course, the input interface I can use other
input methods such as a Cangjie input interface (input method), Boshiamy
input interface (input method), or English input interface. Besides, the
input interface I can be, for example but not limited to, a text input
interface for any edit software, or an input interface for inputting text
or function in other software or website.

[0033] The control unit 12 is electrically connected with the touch panel
11. In this case, the touch panel 11 and the control unit 12 are
integrated as a touch apparatus 1. In other embodiments, the control unit
12 and the touch panel 11 may be dependently configured. Moreover, the
input interface I further includes a text zone W such as a text input
area or other area for article editing.

[0034] The operation method of the touch apparatus 1 and text input
procedures thereof will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS.
1A and 2A. The following example is to input a Chinese word "", and the
arrow shown in the figures indicates the finger of the user.

[0035] When the user uses his finger to touch a button B1, which is one of
the buttons B of the input interface I, the control unit 12 (not shown in
FIG. 2A) can control to magnify and display the symbol corresponding to
the button B1 on the zooming zone. Besides, the control unit 12 also
generates a prompt signal corresponding to the button B1. In this case,
the zooming zone can be an individual area or integrated with other
areas. In this embodiment, the zooming zone is located within the text
zone W of the input interface I. In other embodiments, the zooming zone
can be located in another position in the input interface I other than in
the text zone W.

[0036] In this embodiment, the first input button B1 corresponds to a
symbol "", and the control unit 12 controls to magnify and display the
symbol "" on the zooming zone. Herein, the arrow over the symbol ""
represents the finger of the user. The function of magnifying and
displaying symbol "" corresponding to the button B1 is to allow the
low-vision people to realize which button is touched to view the
magnified symbol.

[0037] In addition, the prompt signal is a sound signal. The sound signal
can be a pronunciation of the symbol or a name of a function
corresponding to the button B1. In other words, the button B1 of this
embodiment is a phonetic symbol "", so the control unit 12 controls a
prompt unit (not shown), such as a speaker, to output a sound like "d".
If the button B1 touched by the user is a functional button (e.g. the
delete key, space key, backspace key, enter key, ctrl key, or the likes),
the control unit 12 controls the prompt unit to output the name of the
functional button. Accordingly, the control unit 12 can control the
prompt unit to output the recognizable prompt signal, which allows the
visually impaired people to know which button is touched, so that the
visually impaired people can easily perform the desired select and input
operation.

[0038] Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, after the user releases the button B1
and doesn't touch the input interface, the symbol "" corresponding to the
button B1 is inputted to the control unit 12. Otherwise, if the touched
button is a functional key, the function corresponding to the button is
inputted to the control unit 12. In other words, when searching the
desired button on the touch panel 11, a visually impaired user must put
his finger (or a stylus) on the input interface I of the touch panel 11
and then move it. This operation is similar to the vision searching of
normal user. When the finger touches a selectable button, the touch
apparatus 1 outputs a prompt signal (e.g. voice) to acknowledge the user
about the symbol or the name of the function corresponding to the button.
If the current touched button B1 is the desired selection, the user can
simply rise his finger to release the button and doesn't touch any area
of the input interface I, thereby finishing the operation of selecting
and inputting the button B1. Since the symbol corresponding to the
desired button is inputted as the finger (or stylus) leaves the button,
this technique is called "release input". Accordingly, the visually
impaired user can perform input operation with the touch apparatus 1 by
relying on the sense of touch and hearing.

[0039] To be noted, the symbol corresponding to the button B can be any of
the phonetic symbols such as "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "",
"", "", "T", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "-", "", "", "Y", "", "", "",
"", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ".sup..", or other
functional texts. In addition, when the user inputs the function
corresponding the functional key to the control unit 12 by the release
input technique, the control unit 12 can then execute this function.

[0040] After inputting the symbol "" corresponding to the button B1 to the
control unit 12, the control unit 12 controls the input interface I to
display only the buttons related to the button B1 and their corresponding
symbols. The buttons related to the button B1 include all possible
buttons following the button B1. In other words, after the user inputs
the symbol B1, many symbols may not follow the symbol B1.

[0041] For example, when the symbol corresponding to the button B1 is "",
the following symbol can not be any of "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "",
"", "", "", "", "", "T", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", and "".
Thus, the symbols "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "",
"T", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", and "" are not related to
the symbol "" corresponding to the button B1, while the rest symbols are
related to the symbol "" corresponding to the button B1. Consequently,
the control unit 12 controls the input interface I to display only the
buttons related to the button B1 and their corresponding symbols. In this
case, the input interface I only displays the symbols ".sup.-", "", "Y",
"", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", and ".sup.." as well as
their corresponding buttons. Referring to FIG. 2B, since the symbols that
are not related to the symbol "" are disappeared, the control unit 12 can
control the input interface I to magnify and display the buttons
corresponding to the displayed symbols.

[0042] As mentioned above, after inputting a symbol, the control unit 12
of the touch apparatus 1 can control to erase the unnecessary buttons and
their corresponding symbols. This feature can reduce the possible
selecting number of symbols, thereby decreasing the time for selecting
the next button and inputting.

[0043] In addition, the touch apparatus 1 may preset the correlations of
every symbol followed by another symbol in different input methods.
Accordingly, after the symbol is inputted to the control unit 12, the
input interface I is controlled to display only the buttons related to
the symbol and their corresponding symbols. This can reduce the possible
selections of inputting and thus make the input speed of the user faster.
Besides, the control unit 12 can merge the spaces occupied by the
disappeared symbols to the existing symbols on the input interface I, so
that the areas of the buttons corresponding to the existing symbols can
be enlarged. For examples, as shown in FIG. 2B, the areas of the symbols
"Y", ".sup.-", ".sup.", ".sup.", ".sup.", and ".sup.", are enlarged, so
that the user can easily select the next button and the corresponding
symbol. In addition, the positions of the possible following symbols does
not change in spite of the occupied areas are enlarged. This feature
allows the user learning about this new input method to quickly remember
the button positions of all symbols, thereby making the input speed
faster.

[0044] If the left side of the displayed buttons has a blank area, which
refers to the non-displayed symbols, the button corresponding to the
displayed symbol is extended towards the left side. For example, the
buttons corresponding to the symbols "Y", ".sup.-", ".sup.", and ".sup."
are extended towards their left sides to occupy the left-side areas
referring to the non-displayed symbols. Otherwise, if the left side of
the displayed buttons does not have a blank area, which refers to the
non-displayed symbols, but the right side thereof does, the button
corresponding to the displayed symbol is extended towards the right side.
For example, the buttons corresponding to the symbols ".sup.", and
".sup." are extended towards their right sides to occupy the right-side
areas referring to the non-displayed symbols.

[0045] When the left side of another button B2 relating to the button B1
displayed on the input interface I has a blank area, and the user touches
the button B2 or the blank area, the control unit 12 generates another
prompt signal corresponding to the button B2, and a symbol corresponding
to the button B2 is magnified and displayed in the zooming zone.
Otherwise, when the left side of another button B2 relating to the button
B1 displayed on the input interface I has a displayed button and a
corresponding symbol while the right side of the button B2 has a blank
area, and the user touches the button B2 or the blank area, the control
unit 12 generates another prompt signal corresponding to the button B2,
and a symbol corresponding to the button B2 is magnified and displayed in
the zooming zone.

[0046] In this embodiment, the next inputted symbol is "Y", so that when
the user touches the button B2 or the left-side blank area (this case
shows that the user touches the left-side blank area), the control unit
12 generates another prompt signal (e.g. the pronunciation of "Y")
corresponding to the button B2. As shown in FIG. 2B, the symbols "" and
"Y" corresponding to the buttons B1 and B2 are magnified and displayed in
the zooming zone.

[0047] Moreover, when the user releases the button B2 or the blank area
and doesn't touch the input interface I, the symbol "Y" corresponding to
the button B2 is inputted to the control unit 12. In this case, the
symbol "Y" corresponding to the button B2 is the exactly desired symbol,
so the user rises his finger to release the button B2, thereby inputting
the symbol "Y" to the control unit 12.

[0048] To be noted, if an incorrect symbol is unintentionally inputted,
the user can select the functional key "edit" of the input interface I to
delete the inputted incorrect symbol and input the correct one again. In
this case, the user can move his finger on the position of the functional
key "edit" of the input interface I, and then the control unit 12
controls the prompt unit to output a voice of "edit". After the user
releases his finger from the input interface I, the edit function is
inputted to the control unit 12, thereby erasing the previously inputted
symbol. Then, the user can input a new and correct symbol again.

[0049] Referring to FIGS. 2B and 2C, after the symbol "Y" is inputted, the
related buttons only include the tone buttons as well as the always
displayed functional buttons, so the spaces of the tone buttons are
enlarged. When the user touches the tone button B3 corresponding to the
symbol "", the control unit 12 controls the prompt unit to output a
corresponding prompt signal, and to magnify and display the symbol ""
following the symbol "Y" on the zooming zone. When the user rises his
finger to release the button B3 and does not touch the input interface I,
the symbol "" is successfully inputted to the control unit 12.

[0050] When the symbols "", "Y" and "" are inputted to the control unit
12, the Chinese words indicating by these set of symbols are all
displayed as shown in FIG. 2D. According to the above-mentioned
operations of selecting buttons and symbols, when the user touches the
button with the displayed word on the touch panel 11, the control unit 12
can generate a prompt signal corresponding to this word. For example, the
control unit 12 can control the prompt unit to pronounce "da" to indicate
the Chinese word "". Accordingly, the visually impaired user can release
whether the touched button is the desired one. After the user release the
button, the Chinese word "" is inputted to the control unit 12, and then
the text zone W of the input interface I displays the Chinese word "".
After the Chinese word "" is displayed on the text zone W, all buttons B
including to symbol buttons and functional buttons are displayed as the
initial status.

[0051] According to the above-mentioned operations, the user can use the
touch apparatus 1 of the present invention to input words, which are
displayed on the text zone W one by one. In addition, when the user
touches the text zone W, the control unit 12 can also generate a prompt
voice corresponding to the text zone W. For example, as shown in FIG. 2E,
when the user moves his finger on the text zone W, the control unit 12
controls the prompt unit to pronounce a prompt voice of "da".

[0052] With reference to FIG. 3A, if the user wants to edit the inputted
words in the text zone W while no other phonetic symbol is currently
inputted, the user can directly select the functional key "edit" on the
top of the screen (the prompt voice of this functional key is also
generated as the user's finger is moved on the functional button).
Referring to FIGS. 3B and 3C, the word to be edited is selected by moving
the finger thereon (the prompt voice of this word is also generated as
the user's finger is moved thereon, and the selected word is magnified
and displayed on the zooming zone). For example, if the user touches the
word "" and then releases it, the word "" is disappeared and replaced by
a blank space. Then, the user can input a new word into this blank space
by the above-mentioned operation.

[0053] Referring to FIGS. 3D and 3E, if the user decides to not input a
new word to the blank space, the user can move his finger behind the
blank space and then rise the finger. After that, the rest words at the
right side are all moved leftwards for one word space.

[0054] With reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C, if the user finds that a word is
missing in an article and would like to insert a new word, the user can
move his finger on one of the displayed words and then rise the finger,
thereby moving the text cursor to the right side of the selected word.
After that, the user can follow the above-mentioned operation to input a
new word behind the selected word.

[0055] For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, if a new word "" is to be
inserted behind the existing word "", the user moves his finger on the
word "" and then rise the finger, thereby moving the text cursor to the
right side of the selected word "". Then, the user can follow the
above-mentioned operation to input a new word "" behind the selected word
"". Of course, after moving the text cursor to the right side of the
selected word, it is also possible to delete the selected word by
pressing the function button "backspace".

[0056] Referring to FIG. 1B again, the buttons B includes a functional
button "E/C". If the function of the function button "E/C" is inputted to
the control unit 12, the touch apparatus 1 is switched to the English
input mode. The example of using the touch apparatus 1 to input English
words will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C. To
be noted, FIGS. 5A to 5C only show the bottom half including the input
buttons B as shown in FIG. 1B, and the top half including the text zone W
and other portions is not shown.

[0057] After pressing the functional button "E/C" as shown in FIG. 1B, the
buttons B of the input interface I are changed and show English letters
as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C. If the user wants to input a word
"COGNITION", he can follow the above-mentioned operation to input the
desired word. For example, the user moves his finger to the button B1
corresponding to the symbol "C". In this case, the prompt voice of the
symbol "C" is generated, and the symbol "C" is magnified and displayed on
the zooming zone. After the user releases the button B1 and does not
touch the input interface I, the symbol "C" is successfully inputted to
the control unit 12, and the symbol "C" is displayed on the text zone W
(not shown in FIG. 5A).

[0058] Referring to FIG. 5B, after the symbol "C" is inputted, the control
unit 12 controls the input interface I to normally display the buttons B
relating to the button B1 and the corresponding symbols, and fades away
symbols corresponding to other buttons B that are not relating to the
button B1. In other words, as shown in FIG. 5B, some buttons B relating
to the button B1 and the corresponding symbols are normally displayed,
while the symbols corresponding to other buttons that are not relating to
the symbol "C" are faded away. In some cases, the next symbol to be
inputted may be not relating the previously inputted symbol such as for
proper nouns or abbreviations. Accordingly, some letters that are not
relating to the symbol "C" are faded away. Since these symbols are faded
away instead of being disappeared, the user can still select these faded
symbols if desired.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 5B, after inputting the symbol "C", the user
touches a normally displayed button B2 corresponding to the symbol "O".
Then, the user releases the button B2 and does not touch the input
interface I, so that the symbol "O" corresponding to the button B2 is
successfully inputted to the control unit 12. Of course, as the
above-mentioned operation for inputting phonetic symbols, when the user
touches a normally displayed or faded button B2, the control unit 12 can
also generate another prompt signal corresponding to the button B2, and
the symbol corresponding to the selected button B2 is magnified and
displayed on the zooming zone.

[0060] Further to input another symbol "G" following the above operation,
as shown in FIG. 5c, only four symbols, including symbols "W", "E", "I",
and "N", as well as the corresponding buttons B are still normally
displayed (the other letters are faded away). Accordingly, the speed for
inputting English words can be increased.

[0061] To be noted, when the user another normally displayed or faded
button, the control unit 12 can generate different prompt signals, so
that the visually impaired user can easily recognize what button is
touched. For example, when the user touches another normally displayed or
faded button, the prompt unit can generate prompt voices with different
tones. Otherwise, the normally displayed button corresponds to a prompt
voice as the faded button corresponds to a vibration, so that the user
can easily distinguish them.

[0062] An information input method applied to the touch apparatus 1 of the
present invention will described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 1A
and 6. Herein, the touch apparatus 1 includes a touch panel 11, which has
an input interface I with a plurality of buttons B. The information input
method includes the following steps S01 and S02.

[0063] The step S01 is to touch a button B1, which is one of the buttons
B, by an object. In this case, when the object touches the button B1, the
touch apparatus 1 generates a prompt signal, and the symbol corresponding
to the button B1 is magnified and displayed on the zooming zone. The
object can be a finger of the user, a stylus, or other object.

[0064] The step S02 is to release the button B1 as the object doesn't
touch the input interface I, thereby inputting the symbol or a function
corresponding to the button B1 to the touch apparatus 1. In this case,
the object is risen to release the button B1 and the user does not touch
any place of the input interface I, so that the symbol or function of the
button B1 is successfully inputted to the touch apparatus 1.

[0065] Since the other technical features of the touch apparatus 1 have
been discussed in the above embodiment, the detailed description thereof
will be omitted.

[0066] In summary, when a user touches one of the buttons, the control
unit generates a prompt signal corresponding to the button, and a symbol
corresponding to the button is magnified and displayed in the zooming
zone. According to this feature, the touch apparatus of the present
invention can help visually impaired people to realize the symbol or
function corresponding to the selected button by the prompt signal and
the magnifying display function. Then, when the user releases the button
and doesn't touch the input interface, the symbol or function
corresponding to the button is inputted to the control unit. Accordingly,
after the button of the touch apparatus is touched and released, the
selected symbol can be successfully inputted. The touch apparatus of the
present invention has the advantage of simplifying the text input.
Besides, due to the assistance of the present invention, the visually
impaired people can easily learn how to use the touch apparatus and to
input texts, so that the touch apparatus of the present invention can
also assist visually impaired people to use.

[0067] Although the invention has been described with reference to
specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a
limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as
well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in
the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will
cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention.